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Surgical Glue Made from Crab Shells

by Rajshri on Mar 30 2010 8:50 PM

In a welcome development, Australian scientists have developed a surgical glue from crab shells, which could be used to replace sutures in eye surgeries.

Called "SurgiLux", this glue can also be used in brain and nerve surgeries. the glue is applied onto the surgical wound and is then sealed with heat application from a laser. This prevents risk of infection and scarring, which are unwanted complications in eye surgeries.

"Some glue technologies rely upon ultra-violet for wound bonding but aren't really suitable because UV-rays damage living cells," said Associate Professor John Foster who leads the University of NSW's Biopolymer Research Group and is also the co-inventor of the glue. "The beauty of SurgiLux is that an infrared laser doesn't cause tissue damage ... better still, it has inherent anti-microbial properties, which discourage post-operative infections."

Another great attribute of the glue is that it is biodegradable. The research team is seeking a commercial backer to market this glue.


Source-Medindia
RAS


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